An overview of what SMT assembly has done for the electronics industry?

There are many ways and techniques that
manufactures use to mount devices and components on a printed circuit board.
Through-hole was the traditional method that remained prevalent for quite long
in the past. After that, SMT went on to replace this technology by bringing
something new to the PCB production and assembling industry.

In this section we have discussed some of the
points that explain this amazing technique of mounting circuits, describes its
features, benefits, and when can we use this technology.

What is SMT or surface mount technology?

In this technique, the manufactures place all
the devices directly on the surface of circuit board, and the resulting product
is what we refer to as SMD (surface mount device). Because of the effectiveness
and efficiency factor, this technique has amazingly replaced the previous
through-hole mounting method. However, a production unit can utilize both of
these techniques on the same board to construct PCBs.

The reason behind using it in conjunction
with through-hole is that there are some devices which do not support surface
mounting. Large transformers and power semiconductors are examples of a few of
such devices. Mostly the components that come under usage for mounting under
SMT technique are small in size, as compared to those used in through-hole
method. It is because the SMT devices have small leads or no leads at all.

Advantages of using SMT assembly:

Size is the biggest advantage of using SMT.
As electronic devices are now getting more compact in size, there is a constant
need of using small units and devices which surface mounting has made possible.
It means that electronics have now become more advanced and compact than it was
ever before, with technology making it more compact day by day.

Using this technique of mounting devices,
there is now a need of drilling only a few holes on the board. Because of this,
assembling process has become more automated and faster. Icing on the cake is
that now components are able to sit on both sides of a circuit board which
simplifies things even further.

To top it all, many of the SMT components and
devices cost less compared to through-hole counterparts. All these features
result in low cost, and less time for initializing the production along with
less manufacturing cost.

When to use this technique?

When the product has to be small

The product should be capable of accommodating
big memory volumes

When the product has to be light and sleek
despite dense components.

It should create little or no noise.

When it requires accommodating large and
complex ICs

When there is a need to make the product
function at high frequencies

SMT assembly and mounting technique has truly revolutionized the electronics
industry. It has simplified the underlying processes to several folds, thus
streamlining the PCB production.